Deer Run Mobile Home Park and RV Campground on U.S. Highway 231 six miles north of Troy is under new ownership, but maintains the same high standards that earned the park Good Sam's and Woodall's Mobile Home Park of the Year honors in 2001.

Barry Grissom bought the park eight months ago and said the park's high ranking was definitely a factor in his decision to purchase the park.

"I owned an RV park in Covington, Ga. and, when a realtor showed me this park, I was immediately interested," he said. "The park is naturally attractive and it offers easy access off Highway 231. It's in a very good location."

The park includes 72 recreational vehicle spaces and 28 mobile home lots.

The RV park features pull-thrus and a swimming pool.

"We are in the process of upgrading the park," Grissom said. "We are adding a 10-acre lake that will be stocked. We've put in concrete padding for the RVs and done some little things to polish the park. We will continue to do things to upgrade the park and keep it looking nice. On the Fourth of July we had a barbecue out here and it was very successful. Everyone seemed to have a good time."

Jimmy Paulk, park manager, said summer is the off-season for the RV park.

"Our busy times are fall, winter and spring because most of our overnight campers are people traveling to and from Florida," he said. "We are about a halfway point for many of them, so we are in a good location."

Paulk said, because this is their first summer of ownership, he does not know how much impact the softball tournaments in Troy will have on the park. However, if the Dixie Belles State Softball Tournament is any indication, softball tournaments will be good for business. He had 25 reservations made by people attending the tournament.

Many of the park's permanent mobile home sites are filled by longtime residents.